Each summer, Friends of Kakamega sponsors a cultural exchange trip to the Kakamega Care Centre for first timers, trippers from previous years, and Friends of Kakamega Board members. This year, trippers and the children and young adults in our programs experienced the same joy as is always reported. But there were also changes which enhanced the experience for everyone involved, such as having Kenyans take the lead in planning activities, less structure to camp activities, and home-based children spending one night at the Care Centre. With these changes and the regular activities, excitement, love, and comradery, the August camps proved to be an enriching and enjoyable experience for Americans and Kenyans alike. ​

Kenyans Organize More Relaxed​ Camp Experiences

Care Centre social worker Lucy Khasoha drums up excitement at the start of a giant tug-of-war.

In the past, American trippers planned and carried out most camp activities, and camps were jam-packed and ruled by schedules, leaving both Kenyans and Americans rather exhausted. This year, we asked our Kenyan staff and KOCC grads, who have previously served as camp counselors, to take the lead. They planned camps to have a much more relaxed pace, allowing trippers and children time and space to make more genuine and lasting connections. All the favorite activities remained - swimming, knitting, reading and writing sponsor letters, crafts, art, games, music and dancing, a trip to town, tug-of-war, soccer games - without the stress of trying to fit everything in within set time periods. The new structure of camp also allowed campers to see and experience Kenyan leadership.

Care Centre girls dancing

Board member and 8th time tripper Leah Bennett observed that this year’s campers looked to the Kenyan counselors for problem solving, support, and hanging out, rather than relying on the American trippers, who are only there for two weeks and, of course, have less familiarity with Kenyan culture. Trippers were happy with the changes because the looser schedule meant that they could engage campers in activities such as card games, potholder-weaving, and friendship bracelet-making during down time, and they enjoyed supporting the Kenyans during the organized activities. Lead camp counselor and Care Centre staff member Kelvin Kalogoni reflected, “When I was informed about the number of changes we were to have, at first I was scared... but...we always consulted each other... [and], by the time we parted…, we agreed unanimously that… each day of the camp was just wonderful.”

Swimming is always a highlight of Care Centre camp.

Care Centre Camp

​The children who live at the Care Centre took part in a fun-filled summer camp for several days. This is the start of their August school holiday and a time of year many look forward to more than any other. Because it was organized by Kenyans this year and also because we’ve learned from years of experience, the Care Centre children’s camp included all the activities the kids love most with more freedom to roam between them.​​

Happily receiving a stylish new backpack

Highlights included a days-long, epic volleyball game with substitutes running in and out, a trip to the local swimming pool, and a walk into town for ice cream and books from the bookstore. This year, as in the past, knitting and crocheting were favorite activities, and children enjoyed knitting limitlessly with yarn chosen from the vast quantities the trippers brought. By the end of camp, children had knit several five foot scarves and crocheted bags the size of potato sacks. This year, trippers and supporters collected backpacks and school supplies for months, and each child was delighted to receive a new bag packed with school supplies that would last for years. Children were also excited to receive letters from their sponsors and especially loved the photos they sent.

Care Centre kids knit scarves as they relax after a fun day.

Girls smile at a bookstore in Kakamega town and show off their selections

Knitting and sharing jokes

Home-Based Kids Come to Care Centre for Overnight Camp

Home-based kids writing letters to sponsors.

Happiness

This year, instead of traveling to the five villages where home-based children live to give them one day of crafts and games, all home-based children were bussed or brought to the Care Centre, where they spent an overnight and had two days of camp activities. The organizers had concerns about all those children, some quite shy and young, staying overnight at the Care Centre for the first time, but they needn’t have worried since it turned out to be a highlight of the summer for all involved.

The home-based kids eagerly explored the big Care Centre building, tumbled around the grounds, made new friends, jumped rope, played sports, and made a lot of noise. Kenyan staff led field activities such as sack races, bottle-filling relay races, and a very competitive tug-of-war. In the evenings, they read and wrote sponsor letters and enjoyed big meals and music together.

Cameron Jury, a high school senior from Maine, was enthusiastic about the home-based children’s camp. She said that the relationships that trippers developed with children as well as those that children developed with each other were unforgettable. “I was amazed to watch these relationships form in such a short time. Each child met new friends, and I watched them play volleyball and soccer, help each other write letters, sing together, perform for each other, and so much more. The constant giggling and smiling faces as the kids begged to make camp longer represented the joy felt by all.” Kenyan lead counselor Kelvin Kalogoni said, “I liked the changes made for the home-based kids because, through their coming to the Care Centre, we discovered that a good number of them have talents that need to be nurtured.” Massachusetts high school senior Emily Philbrook told us that, in closing circle, before the children left for home, “one child’s announcement that next year he would rather stay fifty nights than just one was met with enthusiastic agreement from the kids and laughter from the adults.”

Home-based children visiting the Care Centre jump rope (left), receive backpacks full of school supplies (center), and relax in the evening (right).

High School Camp and Field Trip to Kisumu

Trippers and high school girls chat and laugh on the Care Centre lawn.

The 54 KOCC High School students attend schools across western Kenya, and a few attend prestigious public schools in further-off regions. As a result, this is one of only two times each year when they get to see each other. The high school camp is a time when kids who grew up together in the program get to reconnect and enjoy time free from the stresses of life.

Activities for this three-day camp included soccer and group discussions about topics such as fire safety and mindful use of social media. They even played with fire during a demonstration on proper use of fire extinguishers. They enjoyed plenty of free time to relax with old friends, whether students or trippers, to knit, and share stories. In the evening, they received sponsor letters and fleeces gathered and brought by trippers.

Mildred, a sophomore student at Keveye Girls, reflected that “Every year as August approaches, I get excited because I know the good things that come with this month. This year, I was excited to meet my personal sponsor who I have only communicated with in letters. I had a good time with her; we talked, and she really encouraged me to keep working hard in my studies.”​

The most popular activity was a field trip to Kisumu, the third-largest city in Kenya and the biggest city near Kakamega. ​ Surrounded by mountains, it is a rapidly-growing city of about 250,000 that sprawls across a plain on the shores of the world’s second-largest freshwater body, Lake Victoria. Kisumu’s core is full of colonial-era buildings, and it was the first time in a city of this size for most of KOCC’s high school students. Everyone was very excited about the trip.

There was extra room after the students piled onto the hired bus, so some Care Centre staff were delighted to join them since this was a special opportunity for them as well, and a few trippers tagged along. After 1 ½ hours on a smooth new road, the group descended from the Western Highlands into Kisumu City.​

First, they visited the Kisumu Museum of Natural History, an economically constructed site with historical artifacts and an abundance of local flora and (taxidermied) fauna. Board member and trip co-leader Leah Bennett reported that she “was totally shocked when the students pulled out notebooks and pens and took extensive notes [during] an impromptu lecture about Kenya's aquatic life after we visited the ‘aquarium,’ a series of dark hallways with many tanks. Apparently, this is a topic that many will be tested on in school at the end of this year. But, by far, the biggest hit at the museum was the snake house. The students were excited and also petrified to see Kenya’s largest and most poisonous snakes, all of which seemed to be found in Kakamega! EEEK!”

Next they had a simple lunch on the shores of Lake Victoria, where students enjoyed the lake, sodas, and wild birds and enthusiastically took selfies with staff and trippers’ phones. Afterwards, they visited the Impala Park, a zoo where hippos, giraffes, wildebeest, and lions have their own habitats, and monkeys roam free. Leah concluded that “[a]t the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but the students really loved being able to see a new city and learn more about their country with each other.” ​​

Brian, a senior at Vihiga Boys, said he loved the Impala Park most, where “we were able to see many animals that we [had] only read about in books.” Cyrus, a freshman student at Kivaywe Boys, echoed that feeling. “I got to see animals like lion, leopard, giant snakes, and crocodiles that I had never seen in my life. As we were walking around, I kept on dragging behind as I was astonished seeing those animals.”

High school boys do their best "cool" poses on the lakeshore.

The high school students had a blast borrowing phones for selfies on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Trippers Visit Homes and Witness ​Seed Project Results

Visiting family homes was a highlight for everyone.

This year, trippers visited some KOCC children’s homes and learned about the programs we offer and the remarkable resilience of the families in them. Chicagoan Eileen Pembroke was particularly impressed with farm educator Alfred’s efforts to promote the families’ food security by helping them to grow more and healthier food through KOCC’s Seed Project initiative.

​She reports that “...[G]etting to know the warm and welcoming people of Kenya was a wonderful experience and one that I continue to think about most days since my return. We visited some of the families that [Alfred] is working with and were able to see first hand the impact he has had on their crop production. By teaching families to fertilize and rotate their crops and plant maize only once a year instead of twice, he has helped [many of] them increase their production by 75% or more. He is encouraging families to plant an alternate crop, like groundnuts, for the second planting of the year. While families in the program have been provided with [a stipend for] fertilizer, he is teaching them to compost so that they will eventually produce their own fertilizer. He currently works with about 180 families, but, through his mentoring program, he is extending his impact to the larger community.”

​After she visited homes and learned first-hand how families fetch water, cook, study, and sleep, Friends of Kakamega board member Anne Daly was moved by the incredible determination and resilience of the people she visited. “The families are loving towards each other and their neighbors. When we …[left] the families’... [houses], they presented us with a chicken or duck to take back to the Care Center. From the little they had, they wanted to share.”

Care Centre farm guru Alfred, center, is proud to share the results of his hard work helping guardians grow more food.​

Conclusion

Once again, all involved with the cultural exchange trip and the camps had fun, learned a great deal, and had life-changing experiences. The tried-and-true and new activities and approaches made this year special. If you would like to be a tripper and take part in all the fun and learning, we invite you to inquire about applying for next year’s trip. Details for joining a trip can be found by clicking here​.

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